It’s been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out just as after I sent out the report last Saturday night. There was a shooting right around the corner from my house. I needed to scope out the scene and make sure I could account for people, especially our World Service Corps volunteers. I was also able to visit with some congregants who were at the scene. Wound up from the incident, I wasn't able to get to sleep until about 4 a.m. If you want to know where my head goes in those kinds of settings, you can read my blog entry written that night at http://davotionsfromdahood.blogspot.com/2010/08/scarey.html.
The next morning I shelved the original sermon for Morning Worship and had a message with prayers from the congregation interspersed in it. The new message revolved around why we do what we do and our long-term hope for the community.
Sam and Hannah took the lead during the lesson at Kids' Church. They shared some things about Wales and England with the kids. We then had coloring pages with the Welsh, English, and UK flags.
As Kids' Church wound down our kids who went to Spectacular began to gather in the building. They were going to Pennsylvania for an evening with Spec participants. The family who hosted it have a backyard pool so they all had a chance to play and had a good evening together.
We were on the road to Pennsylvania again on Monday. The kids who had come to church on average of more than twice a week for the last school year had earned a day at Hershey Park. We got there shortly after opening and stayed late enough to close the place.
Work continued on the mural on Tuesday. Sarah brought over another ladder so more people could work on it at the same time. Meanwhile, I got the supplies necessary for our teacher care packages and restocked the paper products at the church.
I met up with George on Wednesday morning. He brought donations of school supplies from folks in the Frederick, Maryland, congregation.
We also worked on producing the September newsletters for Pizza Church and Kids' Church. In trying to make things easier, I completely messed up our mailing student address data base. It took much of the afternoon to get things straightened out.
That afternoon the mural was declared finished. That portion of the Pigtown Peace Pavilion is now complete. You can see pictures of what will welcome kids to their B'more Peaceful experience at http://pigtownpeacepavilion.blogspot.com/.
Bryce and I spent Thursday morning shopping for school supplies. Hannah and Sam had kept a good inventory of what supplies we'd received so Bryce and I took the money and gift cards we'd been given for school supplies and went shopping. At the first Office Depot we were in the supervisor initiated a conversation with us about the unusual combination of things we were buying. When she heard what we were doing she got all teary-eyed and stared giving us lots of extra things for free. The manager at Staples, who we already know well and who has supported us generously over the last few years, also gave us additional items when we were at the checkout. By the end of our trip (which included buying the loss-leads at a variety of stores), we had purchased everything on our list and much, much more, and were only about $8 over our budget.
That afternoon we delivered the teacher care packages to the schools. The elementary school was expecting us and were all happy for the treats. The folks at the charter school were pleasantly surprised with the gesture of support.
With a touch of fall in the air, lots of folks were out on their steps on Thursday evening. I was able to catch up with many people, schedule a baptism for September 12, answer questions about Sunday's school supplies distribution, and collect school supply donations from people who hadn't yet dropped them off.
That evening I spent some extra time at the church making sure the mailing labels were correct as I assembled the newsletter mailings. One of our neighbors stopped by to see if she could volunteer to help with the school supply distribution on Sunday. While I was finishing up the work someone stole my car from the church parking lot. They had first gotten hold of my keys so it was easy for them to do.
We received a 51 lb. box of school supplies from the Hampton, VA, Congregation on Friday. They were delivered to my house so Tamara and Hannah came and took them to the church since I no longer had a key to the church (a fact I realized earlier in the day when I took 6 boxes of ice cream there to put in the freezer for Saturday but couldn't get in).
Friday night brought Pizza Church. The groups were a bit smaller than in recent weeks but very interactive. It was Hannah and Sam's last Pizza Church so the kids spent quite a bit of time after the lessons visiting with them and leaning a bit of British English. Hannah had given out pins with the Welsh flag on them last week and it was neat to see some kids wearing the pins to church. Between sessions, I visited with the mom of a couple of our kids. I think both of her kids kids are going to get baptized on September 12, too.
I got a call from Tamara at about 2 a.m. saying that some kids were in my van. She called the police and I met here there. She had scared the robbers off so we waited for the police. No one came so we went home at 4:00 a.m. By 4:30 they were trying to get in again and were chased off by some neighbors.
When Vonceil got in the van on Saturday morning she saw that they had been back again and had tried to cut through the steering wheel. They did enough damage to need to replace the wheel but didn't have a strong enough saw to get through the steel reinforcements. The police finally came on that call but could only write a report. In getting information from witnesses we learned that they had been in the van at least a 4th time as well.
During the day on Saturday Hannah and Sam worked on unpacking and sorting items from the Peacemobile items. Vonceil picked up a cake to have at a reception for Hannah and Sam after Morning Worship on Sunday. Tamara took the responsibility of getting a locksmith to come out and change the locks at the church. This was a necessary activity and expense because of the situation with my car and van. The robbers have a copy of all my keys and are still very much active in the area so getting the church secured was a priority.
That evening was our monthly Sundae Church. We don't usually get first-time visitors to this activity but today one kid brought four friends. They had a great time and seemed quite interested in Pizza Church. We started with six boxes of ice cream and had no leftovers.
Afterward I got a call from Jenn Maser. She had collected three more boxes of school supplies at work and wanted to drop them off at the church.
Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we'll have a reception after Morning Worship for Sam and Hannah. We'll distribute school supplies on Sunday starting at 3:00 p.m. On Monday Hannah and Sam fly back to the UK. Wednesday brings the return of SonRisers and Mid-Week Service. The University of Maryland School of Nursing will also begin using the buildings as their neighborhood base this Wednesday. We hope to get copies of the church keys made early in the week so that we will not be dependant on just two households to open and close the building.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Taylor Family
The Johnson Family
The Carson Family
The Riddick Family
The Pettis Family
The Bagley Family
The Ghaffar Family
The Bryant Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
8/22/2010
It’s been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started with pouring rain shortly before Morning Worship on Sunday. This kept many of the people who walk and all of the people who come on electric scooters at home. Fortunately, Bill & Wendy Brian and several young adults from their area were in town. We had guests from other congregations, too, so we still had a good-sized group. We started a preaching series that morning about living in peace.
We had some food left over from last week's distribution so we put it out for people to take home with them from church. In the end it was all gone.
Bill led the lesson at Kids' Church that afternoon. The kids were learning about the book of 1 Chronicles.
That evening was our monthly Celebration Service. Several of the people who went to Spectacular talked about their experiences as a part of the good news time. This included a video that Sarah had put together. Tamara cooked hot dogs on the grill and others brought "picnic potluck" food that we shared together afterward.
On Monday Hannah, Sam, and Tamara continued working on a couple of projects. One was the sorting and organizing of our craft project supplies and the other was the painting of the mural for the Peace Pavilion. I went to the store and picked up a few items for our school supply drive with money that had been given for that purpose.
Fred got a letter in the mail on Monday. In it was his acceptance letter to Graceland University for fall 2011. It also included a $4000 annual scholarship to get things started. With that, we now have two kids on track to attend Graceland next fall.
Fred, Tamara, Hannah, Sam and I piled in the van and hit the road at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday. We headed to Port Huron, Michigan, to pick up the Peacemobile. On our way there we took a side trip to Kirtland, Ohio, to tour the church's historic temple there. We got to Port Huron around 8:00 that evening.
We had some down time during the day on Wednesday so there was time for going to the beach, visiting family, watching the lake freighters, and playing mini-golf with the our host families' kids and their friends. Supper was a cookout at Tim and Becky's house.
That evening was a service at the Wadhams Grove congregation. It featured a history of the Peacemobile, a blessing of the congregation and its efforts, our group sharing about the ministry here, and a blessing of our future efforts with the Peace Pavilion.
Jenn was able to join us that evening as well. She moved from Pigtown to Michigan about a year ago and currently lives about an hour from Port Huron.
Thursday brought the long drive home. Pulling the trailer meant driving slower and more stops for gas. Therefore, it took us about the same amount of time to go straight home from Michigan as it did for us to get to Michigan via Kirtland.
While we were away, Gloria was able to visit Charles. She had just recently found him after we had lost track of him in the hospital systems. He's now living in a place where he'll get the assistance he needs.
On Friday I was able to visit with the principals at the two elementary schools closest to the church. Both schools were excited about the Pigtown Peace Pavilion and are looking forward to bringing their kids to participate in it this year.
Friday night brought Pizza Church. Hannah and Sam shared about the UK and about World Service Corps during all three sessions. One kid who we hadn't seen in quite a long time surprised us when he returned in a wheelchair. He had been in a car wreck and had lost the use of his legs and had limited mobility in his arms.
Gillilans took Hannah, Sam, and me out for lunch on Saturday. We had a good visit and afterward the Gillilans stopped by the church to see the progress on the mural and the materials that will become the Peace Pavilion. Later that afternoon, Tamara, Hannah, and Sam made a lot of progress toward completing the mural. You can see an "in-progress" picture of the mural at http://pigtownpeacepavilion.blogspot.com/.
Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, those from around the area who went to Spectacular will have a reunion on Sunday evening in Pennsylvania. On Monday we're going to Hershey Park with kids who earned a trip there through their participation in church last year. On Wednesday we'll be assembling teacher care packages for the local schools. Throughout the week we'll be finishing up summer projects like the mural and the collection of school supplies for distribution August 29. Next Saturday evening is our monthly Sundae Church.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Pestridge Family
The Moore Family
The Quick Family
The St. Thomas Family
The Kruft Family
The Latham Family
The Jamison Family
The Collier Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/
It started with pouring rain shortly before Morning Worship on Sunday. This kept many of the people who walk and all of the people who come on electric scooters at home. Fortunately, Bill & Wendy Brian and several young adults from their area were in town. We had guests from other congregations, too, so we still had a good-sized group. We started a preaching series that morning about living in peace.
We had some food left over from last week's distribution so we put it out for people to take home with them from church. In the end it was all gone.
Bill led the lesson at Kids' Church that afternoon. The kids were learning about the book of 1 Chronicles.
That evening was our monthly Celebration Service. Several of the people who went to Spectacular talked about their experiences as a part of the good news time. This included a video that Sarah had put together. Tamara cooked hot dogs on the grill and others brought "picnic potluck" food that we shared together afterward.
On Monday Hannah, Sam, and Tamara continued working on a couple of projects. One was the sorting and organizing of our craft project supplies and the other was the painting of the mural for the Peace Pavilion. I went to the store and picked up a few items for our school supply drive with money that had been given for that purpose.
Fred got a letter in the mail on Monday. In it was his acceptance letter to Graceland University for fall 2011. It also included a $4000 annual scholarship to get things started. With that, we now have two kids on track to attend Graceland next fall.
Fred, Tamara, Hannah, Sam and I piled in the van and hit the road at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday. We headed to Port Huron, Michigan, to pick up the Peacemobile. On our way there we took a side trip to Kirtland, Ohio, to tour the church's historic temple there. We got to Port Huron around 8:00 that evening.
We had some down time during the day on Wednesday so there was time for going to the beach, visiting family, watching the lake freighters, and playing mini-golf with the our host families' kids and their friends. Supper was a cookout at Tim and Becky's house.
That evening was a service at the Wadhams Grove congregation. It featured a history of the Peacemobile, a blessing of the congregation and its efforts, our group sharing about the ministry here, and a blessing of our future efforts with the Peace Pavilion.
Jenn was able to join us that evening as well. She moved from Pigtown to Michigan about a year ago and currently lives about an hour from Port Huron.
Thursday brought the long drive home. Pulling the trailer meant driving slower and more stops for gas. Therefore, it took us about the same amount of time to go straight home from Michigan as it did for us to get to Michigan via Kirtland.
While we were away, Gloria was able to visit Charles. She had just recently found him after we had lost track of him in the hospital systems. He's now living in a place where he'll get the assistance he needs.
On Friday I was able to visit with the principals at the two elementary schools closest to the church. Both schools were excited about the Pigtown Peace Pavilion and are looking forward to bringing their kids to participate in it this year.
Friday night brought Pizza Church. Hannah and Sam shared about the UK and about World Service Corps during all three sessions. One kid who we hadn't seen in quite a long time surprised us when he returned in a wheelchair. He had been in a car wreck and had lost the use of his legs and had limited mobility in his arms.
Gillilans took Hannah, Sam, and me out for lunch on Saturday. We had a good visit and afterward the Gillilans stopped by the church to see the progress on the mural and the materials that will become the Peace Pavilion. Later that afternoon, Tamara, Hannah, and Sam made a lot of progress toward completing the mural. You can see an "in-progress" picture of the mural at http://pigtownpeacepavilion.blogspot.com/.
Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, those from around the area who went to Spectacular will have a reunion on Sunday evening in Pennsylvania. On Monday we're going to Hershey Park with kids who earned a trip there through their participation in church last year. On Wednesday we'll be assembling teacher care packages for the local schools. Throughout the week we'll be finishing up summer projects like the mural and the collection of school supplies for distribution August 29. Next Saturday evening is our monthly Sundae Church.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Pestridge Family
The Moore Family
The Quick Family
The St. Thomas Family
The Kruft Family
The Latham Family
The Jamison Family
The Collier Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 14, 2010
8/15/2010
It’s been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with a text message. The Wadhams Grove Congregation in Michigan had just had a business meeting. In it, they voted unanimously to donate their Peacemobile to our congregation so we could establish the Pigtown Peace Pavilion here in Baltimore. This will be a major long-term project for us. We'll transform our currently underused balcony into a space for seasonally changing interactive displays that classes from the neighborhood elementary schools can come to and learn about peace building skills.
As a part of the message at Morning Worship, we cast vision for what this blessing and challenge to us from Wadhams Grove will mean to the congregation and the community. People were VERY excited about what could happen here as a result of this new ministry project.
In another part of the service we offered a blessing for Damon. He was scheduled to leave for Graceland University later in the week and we offered our collective prayers for him. After the service, we had a cake and shared our good-byes and well-wishes.
Our topic at Kids' Church was evangelism. The kids made invitations to this week's Bible School activities to give to friends.
That evening was our monthly priesthood meeting. With so much going on this week and last, we limited our time to one hour and got as much covered as we could in that amount of time.
Sam, Hannah, Tamara, Sarah, and I hit the streets Monday morning with postcards announcing Bible School. In about 2.5 hours we distributed a little over 2000 cards to homes surrounding the church. We covered the areas we normally flier and several blocks that we don't normally get to but were able to because of the number of people working together. Afterward we spent much of the rest of the day finalizing Bible School plans, making a shopping list of things we still needed, going to some stores, setting up the room, making sample crafts, and otherwise preparing for morning. About 9 that night we were nearly ready so we had our final prayer session for Bible School together.
We opened the doors for Bible School at 10:00 Tuesday morning. About 30 kids came to the festivities. The group was predominantly 4, 5, and 6 year old kids, the vast majority of whom had never been to The Power House before. We had the absolute best first day of Bible School in all the years we've been doing it. One grandmother who stayed with us for the day said, "You are so organized! You all accomplished more here in two hours than they do all day at where I volunteer!" Our theme was "Taste and see that the Lord is good" and included activities like making butter, frosting crackers, making kaleidoscopes, and mounting pictures of themselves.
After Bible School I headed out to Uhaul. I needed to get a hitch installed on our van to be able to haul the Peacemobile back to Pigtown. We've planned a road trip there next week to pick it up.
We have an elderly person in the congregation who lives alone and has no family. He stopped coming to church about 6 months ago. We've been trying to track him down on and off for the last several months. Gloria learned a while back that he had been hospitalized but, because we aren't family, we were not able to learn even which hospital he was at. Gloria found out this week that he's now in a care home on the other side of town. We're hoping to make contact with him there as soon as we get an afternoon open.
On Wednesday Charlotte and brought a couple of her friends and her keyboard up to the church to run one of the learning centers. Kathy brought a couple of her guitars for the kids to experience. We also made tambourines and colored large posters. Our theme that day was "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord."
Afterward we rearranged the room so that the NA group could meet there that evening. Hannah and Tamara went with Vonceil to her school for a while. Hannah and Sam continued their work on the mural inside the church.
Gloria and I met up at the funeral home that afternoon. Kenny Meile, Bev's husband, died earlier in the week. We went to pay our respects and represent the church in her life.
The Spirit's coming as wind and fire at Pentecost was the basis of our activities at Bible School on Thursday. We made pinwheels, played with bubbles, and made candles out of all our old crayons.
That afternoon I got a call from a friend who distributes free food he's received from grocery stores. He had more than usual and wondered if we could distribute it through the church. He dropped off boxes of fresh meat, breads, desserts, fruits & vegetables, and gallons of milk. We sorted through it and immediately called a some families on the phone and flagged down neighbors who were out on their front steps. Within an hour several families had come and stocked up.
As that wound down I picked up Damon and drove to the airport to catch our flight to Kansas City. He needed to report to Graceland University on Friday morning so we flew out Thursday evening. Once in Missouri we got some additional dorm and school supplies at Wal-Mart. I then took him to Tony and Charmaine Chvala-Smith's house. He spent the night there and they took him up to the campus on Friday morning. I spent the very short night at a motel by the airport to catch the 6:30 a.m. flight back to Baltimore.
Tamara took the lead at Bible School Friday morning. It was our celebration day so we had an inflatable obstacle course, a moon bounce, a Lego table, a coloring table, and a Lincoln Logs/Tinker Toys table. For our snack that day each kids got an apple and two cookies that came from the food distribution on Thursday. My flight from Kansas City was on time so I arrived at the church about 10 minutes into the program.
Once the kids left we started a major clean-up. We mopped the floors, scoured the bathrooms, and scrubbed crayon marks off the tables. We moved some supplies to the attic and got the video screen back in place. Later that afternoon people worked on sketching out details on the mural.
That night brought Pizza Church. We had larger-than-usual groups throughout the evening. The first two groups learned about one of Elisha's miracles while the High School group continued its study of the Gospel of Luke. Two of the older kids from Bible School came to the 6:00 session.
I spent the bulk of the day on Saturday catching up on paperwork. Meanwhile, others were working on the mural inside the church. While I was updating some of the church information on Facebook, I noticed the status of a kid who hadn't been to church in years. It said that he wished he'd gone to Pizza Church on Friday. I commented on the post and invited him to Solid Rock Cafe on Saturday night.
That evening Vonceil came over to the church to help get the curtains back in place. They are used to keep light off the video screen and had been removed for Bible School. With those back up we were ready for Solid Rock.
Not long after opening the doors, the kid I'd reminded on Facebook earlier in the day came in. He brought a friend with him who had never been to the church. In visiting, I learned that he'd seen the pictures we'd posted from camp. He recognized many of his camp friends, now many years older, in the pictures and had decided he needed to get back in church so he could go to camp next year and reconnect with them.
Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, Bill & Wendy Brian and company are coming on Sunday and will be in charge of Kids' Church that day. Hannah, Sam, Tamara, Carlo, Fred, and I are taking a road trip to Michigan to pick up the Peacemobile. We'll also be trying to finish up the mural. With school fast approaching we'll be working on collecting more school supplies and getting them ready for distribution on August 29.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Fleming Family
The King Family
The Wagner Family
The Howe Family
The Lydick Family
The Lester Family
The Martinez Family
The Iman Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/
It started out Sunday with a text message. The Wadhams Grove Congregation in Michigan had just had a business meeting. In it, they voted unanimously to donate their Peacemobile to our congregation so we could establish the Pigtown Peace Pavilion here in Baltimore. This will be a major long-term project for us. We'll transform our currently underused balcony into a space for seasonally changing interactive displays that classes from the neighborhood elementary schools can come to and learn about peace building skills.
As a part of the message at Morning Worship, we cast vision for what this blessing and challenge to us from Wadhams Grove will mean to the congregation and the community. People were VERY excited about what could happen here as a result of this new ministry project.
In another part of the service we offered a blessing for Damon. He was scheduled to leave for Graceland University later in the week and we offered our collective prayers for him. After the service, we had a cake and shared our good-byes and well-wishes.
Our topic at Kids' Church was evangelism. The kids made invitations to this week's Bible School activities to give to friends.
That evening was our monthly priesthood meeting. With so much going on this week and last, we limited our time to one hour and got as much covered as we could in that amount of time.
Sam, Hannah, Tamara, Sarah, and I hit the streets Monday morning with postcards announcing Bible School. In about 2.5 hours we distributed a little over 2000 cards to homes surrounding the church. We covered the areas we normally flier and several blocks that we don't normally get to but were able to because of the number of people working together. Afterward we spent much of the rest of the day finalizing Bible School plans, making a shopping list of things we still needed, going to some stores, setting up the room, making sample crafts, and otherwise preparing for morning. About 9 that night we were nearly ready so we had our final prayer session for Bible School together.
We opened the doors for Bible School at 10:00 Tuesday morning. About 30 kids came to the festivities. The group was predominantly 4, 5, and 6 year old kids, the vast majority of whom had never been to The Power House before. We had the absolute best first day of Bible School in all the years we've been doing it. One grandmother who stayed with us for the day said, "You are so organized! You all accomplished more here in two hours than they do all day at where I volunteer!" Our theme was "Taste and see that the Lord is good" and included activities like making butter, frosting crackers, making kaleidoscopes, and mounting pictures of themselves.
After Bible School I headed out to Uhaul. I needed to get a hitch installed on our van to be able to haul the Peacemobile back to Pigtown. We've planned a road trip there next week to pick it up.
We have an elderly person in the congregation who lives alone and has no family. He stopped coming to church about 6 months ago. We've been trying to track him down on and off for the last several months. Gloria learned a while back that he had been hospitalized but, because we aren't family, we were not able to learn even which hospital he was at. Gloria found out this week that he's now in a care home on the other side of town. We're hoping to make contact with him there as soon as we get an afternoon open.
On Wednesday Charlotte and brought a couple of her friends and her keyboard up to the church to run one of the learning centers. Kathy brought a couple of her guitars for the kids to experience. We also made tambourines and colored large posters. Our theme that day was "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord."
Afterward we rearranged the room so that the NA group could meet there that evening. Hannah and Tamara went with Vonceil to her school for a while. Hannah and Sam continued their work on the mural inside the church.
Gloria and I met up at the funeral home that afternoon. Kenny Meile, Bev's husband, died earlier in the week. We went to pay our respects and represent the church in her life.
The Spirit's coming as wind and fire at Pentecost was the basis of our activities at Bible School on Thursday. We made pinwheels, played with bubbles, and made candles out of all our old crayons.
That afternoon I got a call from a friend who distributes free food he's received from grocery stores. He had more than usual and wondered if we could distribute it through the church. He dropped off boxes of fresh meat, breads, desserts, fruits & vegetables, and gallons of milk. We sorted through it and immediately called a some families on the phone and flagged down neighbors who were out on their front steps. Within an hour several families had come and stocked up.
As that wound down I picked up Damon and drove to the airport to catch our flight to Kansas City. He needed to report to Graceland University on Friday morning so we flew out Thursday evening. Once in Missouri we got some additional dorm and school supplies at Wal-Mart. I then took him to Tony and Charmaine Chvala-Smith's house. He spent the night there and they took him up to the campus on Friday morning. I spent the very short night at a motel by the airport to catch the 6:30 a.m. flight back to Baltimore.
Tamara took the lead at Bible School Friday morning. It was our celebration day so we had an inflatable obstacle course, a moon bounce, a Lego table, a coloring table, and a Lincoln Logs/Tinker Toys table. For our snack that day each kids got an apple and two cookies that came from the food distribution on Thursday. My flight from Kansas City was on time so I arrived at the church about 10 minutes into the program.
Once the kids left we started a major clean-up. We mopped the floors, scoured the bathrooms, and scrubbed crayon marks off the tables. We moved some supplies to the attic and got the video screen back in place. Later that afternoon people worked on sketching out details on the mural.
That night brought Pizza Church. We had larger-than-usual groups throughout the evening. The first two groups learned about one of Elisha's miracles while the High School group continued its study of the Gospel of Luke. Two of the older kids from Bible School came to the 6:00 session.
I spent the bulk of the day on Saturday catching up on paperwork. Meanwhile, others were working on the mural inside the church. While I was updating some of the church information on Facebook, I noticed the status of a kid who hadn't been to church in years. It said that he wished he'd gone to Pizza Church on Friday. I commented on the post and invited him to Solid Rock Cafe on Saturday night.
That evening Vonceil came over to the church to help get the curtains back in place. They are used to keep light off the video screen and had been removed for Bible School. With those back up we were ready for Solid Rock.
Not long after opening the doors, the kid I'd reminded on Facebook earlier in the day came in. He brought a friend with him who had never been to the church. In visiting, I learned that he'd seen the pictures we'd posted from camp. He recognized many of his camp friends, now many years older, in the pictures and had decided he needed to get back in church so he could go to camp next year and reconnect with them.
Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, Bill & Wendy Brian and company are coming on Sunday and will be in charge of Kids' Church that day. Hannah, Sam, Tamara, Carlo, Fred, and I are taking a road trip to Michigan to pick up the Peacemobile. We'll also be trying to finish up the mural. With school fast approaching we'll be working on collecting more school supplies and getting them ready for distribution on August 29.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Fleming Family
The King Family
The Wagner Family
The Howe Family
The Lydick Family
The Lester Family
The Martinez Family
The Iman Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 7, 2010
8/8/2010
It’s been a busy month at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Here are some highlights:
-On Sunday, July 11, we had our priesthood meeting in the evening. We reviewed the intense schedule for the next 8 weeks and spent some time discussing both feelings and plans regarding recent changes in our leadership team.
-We took kids who had earned a dinner at the Golden Corral there on Monday, July 12. Afterward, we stopped by Staples and each bought their $.01 items for the church's school supply drive.
-Our video projector had been on life support and we were able to catch a good sale on a replacement.
-The manager of the Staples in Pigtown that recently closed contacted me on Facebook. She had a donation for us from her new store. I met her there 2 hours later and loaded up the van with the free supplies.
-A couple of kids, Tamara, and I were able to participate in the Saturday (7/17) of our Mission Center Reunion in Springfield, Virginia.
-On Sunday, July 18, the air conditioning quit working mid-way through the sermon during Morning Worship. We had to move Kids' Church to the front room where the a/c still worked. The repairman arrived around 2:30 and was able to get it fixed (at emergency repair rates) before the evening service.
-Between Kids' Church and the Celebration Service that same day, Bill brought Larry McGuire and Jim & Jan Slauter to visit. We had a quick walk through the church and neighborhood. Jim and Jan were able to stay and participate in the evening activities which included a time of sharing about camp and other recent events as well as a potluck dinner.
-The Andersons were on vacation from 7/19 - 8/1. Gloria, Tamara, Robert, Earl, and others kept things running. Edith and Ron each also came in to provide the message on the Sundays I was gone.
-5 kids from The Power House participated in Spectacular at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, August 24-31. Tamara served as a part of the staff from our area.
-One of our members had a mini-stroke. They're going through more tests to determine exactly what to do next.
-We were surprised when we clicked on the denomination's web page (http://www.cofchrist.org/) and saw a picture of one of our members on the home page.
-There was a last minute opening at Camp Opportunity. We had a girl in the congregation who was qualified to participate and Sarah was able to coordinate all the paperwork to make it happen.
-The August newsletters for Kids' Church and Pizza Church went out in the mail. You can read electronic copies at http://kidschurchnews.blogspot.com/ and http://pizzachurchpress.blogspot.com/.
-Our World Service Corps volunteers, Hannah and Sam, arrived on Monday, August 2. They'll be here until August 30. This week they worked on a couple of painting projects, organized the school supplies we've received for our drive thus far, helped staff activities, and had some fun at an Orioles game and an evening at the drive-in theater.
-I was able to participate in the Global Leadership Summit via satellite from Willow Creek this Thursday and Friday.
-We had an unusually high number of kids participate in Pizza Church this Friday evening (8/6). It was good for that many kids to meet Hannah and Sam early in their visit. It was Sam's birthday so Tamara brought a cake that we shared with the senior high group.
That's a rough overview of some of the happenings from the last month. Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have our monthly Priesthood Meeting this Sunday evening. On Monday we'll be distributing fliers throughout the neighborhood promoting Bible School. We'll then get things set up and ready for the kids' arrival. Bible School is Tuesday through Friday from 10 :00 a.m. - Noon. Thursday afternoon I'm flying with Damon to Kansas City to get him started on his college career the next day at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. If the plane is on time should be back in time for Friday's Bible School sessions.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Ratcliffe Family
The Fitzpatrick Family
The Jones Family
The Carroll Family
The Bonnet Family
The Farley Family
The Kline Family
The Shiflett Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/
Here are some highlights:
-On Sunday, July 11, we had our priesthood meeting in the evening. We reviewed the intense schedule for the next 8 weeks and spent some time discussing both feelings and plans regarding recent changes in our leadership team.
-We took kids who had earned a dinner at the Golden Corral there on Monday, July 12. Afterward, we stopped by Staples and each bought their $.01 items for the church's school supply drive.
-Our video projector had been on life support and we were able to catch a good sale on a replacement.
-The manager of the Staples in Pigtown that recently closed contacted me on Facebook. She had a donation for us from her new store. I met her there 2 hours later and loaded up the van with the free supplies.
-A couple of kids, Tamara, and I were able to participate in the Saturday (7/17) of our Mission Center Reunion in Springfield, Virginia.
-On Sunday, July 18, the air conditioning quit working mid-way through the sermon during Morning Worship. We had to move Kids' Church to the front room where the a/c still worked. The repairman arrived around 2:30 and was able to get it fixed (at emergency repair rates) before the evening service.
-Between Kids' Church and the Celebration Service that same day, Bill brought Larry McGuire and Jim & Jan Slauter to visit. We had a quick walk through the church and neighborhood. Jim and Jan were able to stay and participate in the evening activities which included a time of sharing about camp and other recent events as well as a potluck dinner.
-The Andersons were on vacation from 7/19 - 8/1. Gloria, Tamara, Robert, Earl, and others kept things running. Edith and Ron each also came in to provide the message on the Sundays I was gone.
-5 kids from The Power House participated in Spectacular at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, August 24-31. Tamara served as a part of the staff from our area.
-One of our members had a mini-stroke. They're going through more tests to determine exactly what to do next.
-We were surprised when we clicked on the denomination's web page (http://www.cofchrist.org/) and saw a picture of one of our members on the home page.
-There was a last minute opening at Camp Opportunity. We had a girl in the congregation who was qualified to participate and Sarah was able to coordinate all the paperwork to make it happen.
-The August newsletters for Kids' Church and Pizza Church went out in the mail. You can read electronic copies at http://kidschurchnews.blogspot.com/ and http://pizzachurchpress.blogspot.com/.
-Our World Service Corps volunteers, Hannah and Sam, arrived on Monday, August 2. They'll be here until August 30. This week they worked on a couple of painting projects, organized the school supplies we've received for our drive thus far, helped staff activities, and had some fun at an Orioles game and an evening at the drive-in theater.
-I was able to participate in the Global Leadership Summit via satellite from Willow Creek this Thursday and Friday.
-We had an unusually high number of kids participate in Pizza Church this Friday evening (8/6). It was good for that many kids to meet Hannah and Sam early in their visit. It was Sam's birthday so Tamara brought a cake that we shared with the senior high group.
That's a rough overview of some of the happenings from the last month. Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have our monthly Priesthood Meeting this Sunday evening. On Monday we'll be distributing fliers throughout the neighborhood promoting Bible School. We'll then get things set up and ready for the kids' arrival. Bible School is Tuesday through Friday from 10 :00 a.m. - Noon. Thursday afternoon I'm flying with Damon to Kansas City to get him started on his college career the next day at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. If the plane is on time should be back in time for Friday's Bible School sessions.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Ratcliffe Family
The Fitzpatrick Family
The Jones Family
The Carroll Family
The Bonnet Family
The Farley Family
The Kline Family
The Shiflett Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
http://thisweekatthepowerhouse.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)